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Salmonella tied to tuna sickens 10 in Maricopa County

A salmonella outbreak likely tied to raw tuna has sickened at least 10 people in Maricopa County and 53 people across nine states, health officials said.

People with the foodborne illness in Maricopa County each ate in one of at least five restaurants, and all those restaurants received raw-tuna shipments from one food distributor, Maricopa County health officials said Friday.

Public-health officials will not identify the restaurants tied to the outbreak because the source of contamination is elsewhere, such as a food supplier or manufacturer.

The Food and Drug Administration said in an online post that it will analyze records, possibly invoices and shipping documents, to see whether the outbreak is tied to a common source of tuna.

If the FDA identifies a single source, the federal agency said it would remove the tainted food from the marketplace and alert consumers.

The outbreak mainly has clustered in the Southwest, with 31 cases in six Southern California counties and six people sickened in New Mexico.

Illinois, Mississippi, South Dakota, Virginia, Washington and Wisconsin each had a single case, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Thursday.

Three people in Maricopa County and seven others have been hospitalized, but no one has died. Most were sickened after they ate sushi that included raw tuna, according to the CDC.

The CDC has not yet identified a single brand or source tied to the outbreak in all states of a rare strain of salmonella called Paratyphi B, so it has not recommended any steps for restaurants, retailers or consumers to follow.

Those who are susceptible to foodborne illness — children younger than 5, adults 65 and older, pregnant women and those with weakened immune systems — should always avoid raw fish and shellfish, even when there is no known outbreak, the CDC said.

Maricopa County health officials said last week that nine people who became ill in April tested positive for the same rare strain of salmonella. One more case has been confirmed this week. Maricopa County health officials interviewed eight of the 10 people who tested positive for the salmonella, and those individuals all ate raw tuna.